Australian police believe they have shot dead a suspect accused of killing two police officers and seriously wounding a third in a remote forest region seven months ago.
There had been no confirmed sightings of Dezi Freeman, 56, since he allegedly opened fire on police officers who came to serve a warrant at his home near Porepunkah in Victoria state north-east of Melbourne on August 26 last year, Victoria’s chief commissioner of police Mike Bush said on Monday.
A man believed to be Freeman was fatally shot by police on Monday at a remote location near Thologolong, around two hours’ drive north of Porepunkah, a police statement said.
“We believe it is Freeman, but we have to go through a formal identification process,” Mr Bush told reporters in Melbourne.
Identification could take up to 48 hours through processes including fingerprinting.
Heavily armed Special Operations Group tactical police were involved in a stand-off for three hours before the suspect was shot. He had been inside a shipping container-type structure.
“This was all about bringing this to a conclusion as safely as possible. Our ultimate goal was to arrest the person there … as peacefully as possible,” Mr Bush said.
The police chief added he “strongly believed” the suspect was armed. Mr Bush could not say whether the suspect fired at police.
Australian news outlets widely reported that Freeman espoused co-called sovereign citizen beliefs and had grievances with police.
He had wilderness survival skills that police feared could sustain him living in the open indefinitely.
The shooting of three police officers led to a massive search across Victoria’s heavily forested alpine region. In recent months, police said they suspected Freeman had killed himself.
“We have to follow every avenue of inquiry and there was a lot to suggest that Freeman had taken his own life,” Mr Bush said.
Mr Bush would not say whether a tip-off led police to the suspect on Monday. Police had offered a one million Australian dollar (£517,000) reward for information.
Officers are investigating whether others had helped the suspect avoid arrest.